TT Fed Cup women whip B’dos 3-0

TT’S four-member Fed Cup women’s tennis team enjoyed a nearly perfect start to Pool B action in the Americas Zone Group II at the Tennis Club Las Terrazas Miraflores, in Lima, Peru, yesterday, as they recorded a 3-0 victory over Barbados.

The result lifted TT at the top of the group after one match, while Barbados were left rooted to the bottom with a second consecutive 3-0 defeat, which would end their Pool B challenge.

Barbados lost their previous match to the Bahamas, TT’s second and final Pool B opponents, who they will play today.

Breana Stampfli, the established 25-year-old TT player, set the tone for the day’s proceedings by taking the first rubber 6-0, 6-1 over debutant Chloe Weekes, the youngest player in the tournament at 15. The result put Stampfli’s Fed Cup win/loss singles record to 28/14.

Yolande Leacock, 18, making her fourth Fed Cup appearance, took on 17-year-old Tangia Riley-Codrington, playing in her second tournament.

Leacock was relentless, leaving Riley-Codrington scrambling in a 6-0, 6-0 win, which boosted the former’s singles record to 5/5.

The three-rubber series came to an expected close after the same two Barbadian players faced off against Stampfli and Anneliese Rose, record holder for TT at the Fed Cup with 13 appearances.

The 40-year-old rolled back the years as she Stampfli bossed the clay court in a 6-0, 6-1 victory to end the day. Today, TT face a more experienced Bahamas team. The two teams met last year with the latter taking a 2-1 win, which equalled the two country’s head-to-head record. A win today will seal the top of the group for TT, and a place in the play-off, for a place against the winner of Pool A. The winner of the play-off will advance to Americas Zone Group I.